What makes this story unique is that its characters -- one a lively loud-mouthed Long Islander, the other an old-money field hockey star from Connecticut -- seem very vivid -- and vulnerable. They both have deep family issues, and encounter new problems as well: Nikki falls for a bad boy, who gets expelled, and Laine's eating disorder threatens her field hockey scholarship -- and future college career.

Their prep school setting feels equally real. It's complete with magical adjoining woods, cafeteria politics -- and, of course, dorm hazing (in one scene, the alpha girls line up the dorm residents to circle their flaws). The authors went to boarding school together, and it's clear that they loved it, warts and all.

Don't be fooled by the book's cheap packaging or its formulaic set-up. Readers will be truly moved by both girls' stories -- and appreciate their growing friendship.